These are my links for August 2nd through August 3rd:

• Wii homebrew – Double Down – Direct link here (thanks Contra!)
• Bust-a-Move Plus – review – Direct link here
• The rise of Level 5 – In a time when many game developers are struggling, and much of the industry tells us that new I.P.s are too risky to go after, Level 5 is bucking the trends on all fronts. They have created two brand-new I.P.s that are extremely successful. Professor Layton is heading into the theaters, and Inazuma [...]
• Ron Carmel of 2D Boy discusses his opinion of Nintendo – A portion of an N-club interview with Ron Carmel…
  N-club: Since we are part of the Nintendo community we were wondering what your look on Nintendo is? Where do you see Nintendo in the market today?
  Ron Carmel: Clearly, I don’t think anyone will dispute that Nintendo made a very smart move with the Wii, and the [...]
• Play-Asia price drops – Bag of Elegance (fuchsia) – Golden Stylus included – $11
  Major League Baseball 2K9 Fantasy All-Stars – $15
  Fishing Rod Advance – $4
• How to draw Yoshi – Direct link here (thanks Olimar!)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince DS – review – A portion of a C3 review…
  The DS version of the Half-Blood Prince is well-presented – with a detailed Hogwarts to explore, and decent cel-shaded visuals – but the actual gameplay is an unpleasant mix of inane fetch quests and mini-games of limited appeal. Even if you’re a die-hard Potter fan who falls into the lower [...]
• The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures – another 5 TV setup – We’ve featured a video like this before, but seeing someone once again tackle the necessary components to make this happen is really awe-inspiring. One day I will play the game like this…one day.
  CAUTION – FOUL LANGUAGE Direct link here
• Putting together a cast for Resident Evil: Afterlife – There’s no official cast of the upcoming 4th Resident Evil film, outside of Milla Jovovich. The article below picks some of Hollywood’s best and brightest to fill the roles. Just be prepared for actors/actresses much worse than these choices to actually land a spot in the film.
  Article here
  Link
• Discipline – first scans – Link
• Contact – review – A portion of a TinyCartridge review…
  Contact isn’t ahead of the curve. It likey isn’t what video games will become one day. It just is. Other games can, and probably will, go there one day. They too will be lambasted and criticized for being who they are and for not being what they were never supposed [...]
• Endless Ocean 2 – more scans – Link
• Getting to know La-Mulana – Be honest…there are quite a few of you that never heard of La-Mulana before the WiiWare announcement. Trust me, it’s okay! This is yet another indie game, but it hasn’t received the recognition that Cave Story has. Hopefully, articles like these will help explain why La-Mulana is just as worthy of your [...]
• Miyamoto: Not Worshipping at DLC’s Altar – <p><img src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/2009/08/custom_1249252094090_shigeru_miyamoto_hobbies.jpg" class="left image340" width="340" />In an interview with the San Jose Mercury-News, Nintendo's <a rel="nofollow" title="Click here to read more posts tagged SHIGERU MIYAMOTO" target="_blank" href="http://kotaku.com/tag/shigeru-miyamoto/">Shigeru Miyamoto</a> downplayed the importance of <a rel="nofollow" title="Click here to read more posts tagged DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION" target="_blank" href="http://kotaku.com/tag/digital-distribution/">digital distribution</a> to the company's future.</p>
  <p>Said Shiggy:</p>
  <blockquote>
  <p>Personally, I'm one of those guys who, even if I have all the songs from iTunes, I want the CD as well. I feel more reassured with that physical media. Entertainment is something that will not just become digital. If I look at Wii MotionPlus, this is something that you're not doing via digital distribution. The thing for us is we really don't see the future of video games being merely confined to digital distribution or moving solely or even to a majority of our products being distributed that way.</p>
  </blockquote>
  <p>That's not Nintendo flipping the bird at digital distribution, per se, but it does mean that physical media is going to be a staple of its publishing m.o. for some time. The statement about wanting a CD in addition to having the mp3s seems a little bit antiquated as well. I'm not sure why anyone would buy the CD after getting music. It can't be for the luxurious LP art.<br>
  <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.siliconvalley.com/ci_12969244"><br>
  The Mercury News Interview: Shigeru Miyamoto, Head of Game Development,</a> Nintendo [San Jose Mercury-News via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://gonintendo.com/?p=91693">GoNintendo</a>]</p>
• I wonder where Moonlight’s devs got their idea… – Check out this App store game. Any WiiWare title come to mind? Direct link here
• ESRB updates – Bakugan: Battle Brawlers (Wii/DS) – E
  Press Your Luck 2010 Edition (Wii/DS) – E
  Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron (DS) – E10+
  The Biggest Loser (Wii) – E
  The Price is Right 2010 Edition (Wii) – E
  Prank’d: Pranking Your Way Around the World (DS) – E10+
  Nostalgia (DS) – E10+
  Encleverment Experiment (Wii) – E
  Astro Boy: The Video Game (DS) – [...]
• Bonus Round – The Rise of Multiplayer – <p><center>

  </center></p>

• Arcade Shooter: Ilvelo – high-res boxart – Thanks to Hero of Legend for the heads up! It’s quite a funky boxart, isn’t it?
• Miyamoto not really a big fan of digital distribution – A portion of a MercuryNews interview with Miyamoto…
  “Personally, I’m one of those guys who, even if I have all the songs from iTunes, I want the CD as well. I feel more reassured with that physical media. Entertainment is something that will not just become digital. If I look at Wii MotionPlus, this is [...]
• Wii Sports Resort – review – A portion of a Game-Boyz review…
  Wii Sports Resort is a solid addition to any gamer’s library of Wii games. I had my doubts that the MotionPlus would make such a difference, but after playing the games included on the disc I have to say that the future is bright for the new peripheral.
  Full review here
• TMNT: Smash-up – impressions – Impressions here
• Looking back on The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX – I never played The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX. I played the non-color version, so I missed out on all the glorious eye candy, as well as the special temple. I feel like I should go back and pick this game up. It’s funny…the color on the GBC still amazes me!
  Article [...]
• Newt Gingrich is loving those Wii Sports – Check out these blurbs from Newt Gingrich’s Twitter…
  Wii bowling in stevens point wisconsin home of point beer and callista’s brother and his family; seven year old is proving tough competition
  A few Tweets come in offering help on how to beat the seven year old. Then this question is asked…
  @konabess good advice I will try [...]
• FFCC: The Crystal Bearers to feature familiar monsters – “The variety of locations and the lively actions of the people and monsters that reside there should definitely add an element of surprise, and by playing in such an environment, I think that players will naturally become more cheerful. Some familiar Final Fantasy monsters will also be making appearances, at times as a boss-class enemy, [...]
• Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga – high-res boxart – Thanks to Hero of Legend for the heads up!
• Can’t Stop me Now, Havin’ such a Good Time! – “I just couldn’t stop playing when I picked it up.”
  -Vance Have you ever played a game where you couldn’t stop playing? Also, was Wii Sports Resort one of them?<div>
  <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Infendo?a=WQE8DHnSFq4:UJ9ExeodMb8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Infendo?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Infendo?a=WQE8DHnSFq4:UJ9ExeodMb8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Infendo?i=WQE8DHnSFq4:UJ9ExeodMb8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Infendo?a=WQE8DHnSFq4:UJ9ExeodMb8:D7DqB2pKExk"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Infendo?i=WQE8DHnSFq4:UJ9ExeodMb8:D7DqB2pKExk" border="0" /></a>
  </div>
• Pearl Jam’s next album simultaneously arrives at retail, in Rock Band 2 – <div><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.billboard.com/#/features/pearl-jam-back-to-the-future-1003999243.story?page=3"><img hspace="0" border="1" vspace="0" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2009/08/backspacerheader580px.jpg" alt="" /></a></div>
  For a site that writes about all things video games, we've written an awful lot about <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.joystiq.com/tag/pearl-jam">Pearl Jam</a> over the last couple of years. In fairness, Pearl Jam has been making a lot of noise on the rhythm game front, releasing <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/20/rock-band-weekly-pearl-jams-ten-album/">an entire album as DLC</a> for <em>Rock Band 2</em>, eliciting responses from their community on a future "<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/11/pearl-jam-returns-in-new-rock-band-project-with-fan-voted-set/"><em>Rock Band</em> project</a>," and now, announcing that their next album is dropping day and date at retail as well as DLC for <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.joystiq.com/tag/rock-band-2"><em>Rock Band 2</em></a>. <br /> <br /> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.billboard.com/#/features/pearl-jam-back-to-the-future-1003999243.story?page=3">Billboard</a> spoke with the band and confirmed that their next album, titled "Backspacer," will be "available on <em>Rock Band</em> the day it comes out." Additionally, Target will be getting its own version of the album that will come with a code to download various PJ songs in <em>Rock Band</em> — a tactic that the group's <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.joystiq.com/2009/02/04/rock-band-dlc-to-be-bundled-with-re-release-of-pearl-jams-ten/">employed in the past</a>. "Backspacer" hits stores and XBLM/PSN on September 20.<br /> <br /> [Via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.vg247.com/2009/08/01/pearl-jams-backspacer-to-land-on-rock-band-day-of-debut/">VG247</a>]<br /><p><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.joystiq.com"><img src="http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Joystiq" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.joystiq.com/2009/08/02/pearl-jams-next-album-simulatenously-arrives-at-retail-in-rock/">Pearl Jam's next album simultaneously arrives at retail, in Rock Band 2</a> originally appeared on <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.joystiq.com">Joystiq</a> on Sun, 02 Aug 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br></p><h6></h6><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.billboard.com/#/features/pearl-jam-back-to-the-future-1003999243.story?page=3">Read</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.joystiq.com/2009/08/02/pearl-jams-next-album-simulatenously-arrives-at-retail-in-rock/" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.joystiq.com/forward/19116703/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.joystiq.com/2009/08/02/pearl-jams-next-album-simulatenously-arrives-at-retail-in-rock/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>
• Guitar Hero 5 does away with in-game Friend Codes – <p><img src="http://bulk2.destructoid.com/ul/142378-friendcode.jpg" alt="Guitar Hero 5 does away with in-game Friend Codes screenshot" width="468" border="0" /> </p><p>Now that the RRoD is pretty much taken care of let's take quick poll of everyone here and ask what the most annoying thing is in all of gaming. I'll give you a hint: it starts with Friend and ends with Codes. Friend Codes are the bane of any online Wii gamer (not such an oxymoron anymore) not really because they exist — I think we've all managed to swap our Wii's number with the people we want to swap it with — but because our Wii friend code actually does very little since almost every single game that features online has needed its own separate code to type in.</p><p>Pain in the ass? Most definitely. Necessary? Evidently not. Confirming <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.destructoid.com/rumortoid-big-wii-title-to-ditch-friend-codes–117988.phtml">the rumors of a massive game ditching Friend Codes</a>, Vicarious Visions has announced that they've completely dropped in-game Friend Codes from <i>Guitar Hero 5</i>. Speaking with <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://wii.ign.com/articles/100/1009916p1.html">IGN</a> CEO and Chief Creative Officer at Vicarious Visions, Karthik Bala talked about ridding the system of the needless barrier to online gaming. </p><p>"Yes. No in-game Friend Codes! For GH5, we've implemented support for your global Wii Friend Codes. If you've got friends in your Wii address book, they'll automatically be added to your friends list in game, so you can easily connect up with them in online multiplayer games. It's much easier to maintain a single list of friends on your Wii that you only have to enter once and use that address book directly in-game for invites, etc.," Bala said.</p><p>Along with doing away with the hassle of individual Friend Codes, the Wii version of the game has been graphically revamped, shoved full of features the 360/PS3 versions aren't going to have and, most excitingly, DS connectivity. With Friend Codes being far less of a hassle do the extra features sell you on the Wii version instead?  </p>
• Iwata Hints at New Marketing for DS – <p><img src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/2009/08/custom_1249233118986_dsiwata.jpg" class="left image340" width="340" />Following this week's sour, but not unexpected, news of a 40 percent drop in hardware sales, Nintendo chief <a rel="nofollow" title="Click here to read more posts tagged SATORU IWATA" target="_blank" href="http://kotaku.com/tag/satoru-iwata/">Satoru Iwata</a> seems to be taking DS marketing in the direction of a personal device.</p>
  <p>The shift would mean they want the unit to be seen as something everyone should own, not shared among a family. Basically, it means Nintendo wants everyone in the world to have a DS, which might seem obvious, and is an ambitious way to expand what analysts had seen as a somewhat saturated market.</p>
  <p>Techradar's digest of a Nikkei article (subscription only) said the marketing will portray the DS as personal device "like a mobile phone," but I wouldn't take that to mean it's gonna get those capabilities sometime.</p>
  <p><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/ds-for-every-man-woman-and-child-on-earth-622129?src=rss&attr=newsall">Nintendo Wants to Sell DS to Everyone on Earth</a> [Techradar via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.cubed3.com/news/12819">Cubed3</a>]</p>
• Newt Gingrich Needs Tips on Wii Sports – <p><img src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/2009/08/custom_1249229797390_newt_gingrich.jpg" class="left image340" width="340" /><a rel="nofollow" title="Click here to read more posts tagged NEWT GINGRICH" target="_blank" href="http://kotaku.com/tag/newt-gingrich/">Newt Gingrich</a>, putative presidential candidate (and in his party, who isn't?) is getting his ass handed to him by a 7-year-old in <a rel="nofollow" title="Click here to read more posts tagged WII BOWLING" target="_blank" href="http://kotaku.com/tag/wii-bowling/">Wii bowling</a> and has asked for your help,</p>
  <p><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/newtgingrich/status/3077490023">Via Twitter</a>, the former Speaker of the House says he's up in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, visiting family and rolling the Wiimote. "Seven year old is proving tough competition," he tweets.</p>
  <p>Twitter's konabess <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/konabess/status/3077801161">replies</a> with the helpful, "keep your elbow in and follow through!" Gingrich <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/newtgingrich/status/3077969083">replies:</a> "Good advice I will try this Any advice for <a rel="nofollow" title="Click here to read more posts tagged WII GOLF" target="_blank" href="http://kotaku.com/tag/wii-golf/">wii golf</a>."</p>
  <p>I would have pointed him to the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/kotaku/full/~3/XHzdtaTcXMY/bowling-ball-attachment-helps-you-destroy-tv-better">bowling ball attachment</a>. As for golf, well, I find that the distance your ball travels relative to the dots feel a bit longer after the second dot. Keep that in mind when you're trying to make a mid-range iron shot onto the green.</p>
  <p>Man, I feel so goddamned <em>bipartisan</em> all of a sudden.<br>
  <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/newtgingrich"><br>
  Newt Gingrich on Twitter</a></p>